Voice Acting has become a prevalent profession nowadays as otaku culture has become a global phenomenon because of the diverse expansion of anime worldwide. Even cats are now being hired to do this job, which is mind-blowing. But with great power comes a significant responsibility, and sometimes, voice actors do things which are not acceptable to society, and they face the consequences because of this. The most famous example is the case of J-pop singer LiSa and his voice actor husband. And today, we shall discuss a similar case related to another voice actor.
The official Twitter account of Mononoke recently announced the delay of the anime movie and a change of the primary staff, which has left fans shocked and confused. But this was obvious enough as the voice actor didn’t have a healthy background recently.
The Mononoke Twitter account made a post today on Twitter:
The post centred mainly on two things. One, the anime movie of Mononoke is getting postponed for unknown reasons, but this is not surprising as many anime are getting postponed this year. Second, the voice actor of the main protagonist of the series is also getting changed. Kusuriuri (The Medicine Seller) was the series’s main protagonist, and Takahiro Sakurai voiced him (Who has also voiced Reigen from Mob Psycho, Getou from Jujutsu Kaisen and Tomioka from Demon Slayer).
Why Change a Main Cast Member all of a sudden?
This news shocked everyone as Takahiro Sakurai is a very professional voice actor. According to the post, the voice actor was changed because:
The period-era supernatural film is set “in Ōuku (historically the women’s quarters of Edo Castle) and tries to depict the suffering and remedy of women. Judging from the standpoint of the story, we decided to change the cast of the medicine seller.”
The staff of Mononoke explaining why they changed the main voice actor
Now, something feels off about this post. A person who did a fantastic job for a series of 12 episodes, and now changing him suddenly just because his voice does not feel suitable for the film? Let’s see what the hidden context of all of this is.
The recent scandal of Takahiro Sakurai
A few months ago, a famous Japanese Entertainment Media Website named Weekly Bunshun shared the news of Takahiro Sakurai’s (a famous voice actor and singer) ten-year-old affair with a staff member of his radio show “PS Genki Desu, Takahiro” and that the voice actor also has a hidden wife, which he kept a secret from everyone till this day.
After this news breakout, Takahiro and his radio show company apologized to everyone as they didn’t have anything to cover for now, and the radio show also ended the same day after it’s Episode 470 because the girl Takahiro had an affair with resigned from the show and the show couldn’t continue.
According to reports, the president of Takahiro’s voice acting agency also admitted that he had no idea the voice actor was married. A recent interview with the same voice acting agency, on January 18, revealed that Takahiro Sakurai had a third girl he was in relation with, who is now suing him for infidelity.
The Hidden Picture No one Wants to See
In Japan, these cases are taken very seriously, and the TV star’s personal life also affects their professional career, just like the case of Tatsuhisa Suzuki, who was removed from almost all of his roles in different anime series. Celebrities might go unharmed by the fans after doing such things, but the entertainment industry of Japan is not very forgiving in such cases.
Of course, the Anime’s Twitter Page didn’t want to add fuel to the fire again by mentioning that they fired the voice actor for the act of infidelity. So, they might probably choose to give another excuse to the fans with an apology.
The Future of Takahiro Sakurai
For now, Takahiro Sakurai has only been fired from two series, i.e. Mononoke “Role of Kusuriuri” and Ayaka “Role of Kurama”. In the future, his roles that might be affected in popular anime include:
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think, just like Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Takahiro Sakurai will also be removed from most of his leading roles in different anime series? Let us know in the comments down below. We here at Anime Senpai would love to know what you think.
